Pronunciation · consonant

The /z/ sound: z as in zoo

In short

/z/ is a voiced alveolar fricative, the consonant you hear in zoo, music, plans. It is voiced: your vocal cords vibrate while you make it. Below: exactly how to position your mouth, audio you can copy, the mistakes learners actually make, and drills to fix them.

How to pronounce /z/

1Same position as /s/, tongue near the ridge.
2Switch your voice on: a buzzing bee sound.
3Crucially, most plural s and verb s endings are /z/: dogs, plays, becomes.

Sounds like: a buzzing bee, 'zzz'

/z/ in words, with audio

Listen, then copy. The slow (turtle) version exaggerates the mouth movement.

zoozuː · sound is initial
musicˈmjuːzɪk · sound is medial
plansplænz · sound is final
busyˈbɪzi · sound is medial
becausebɪˈkɒz · sound is final

The mistake almost everyone makes

Devoicing it to /s/: 'eyes' becomes 'ice', 'plays' becomes 'place'. Since /z/ carries plurals and third-person verbs, this error blurs grammar as well as sounds.

Who struggles with this sound:

Spanish speakers: no /z/ in Spanish: 'eyes' devoices to 'ice', plural endings disappear
Mandarin speakers: final consonants drop or gain a vowel: 'five' becomes 'fi' and plural/past endings vanish
Bengali speakers: /z/ becomes /dʒ/: 'zoo' → 'joo', 'lazy' → 'lajy'
Vietnamese speakers: final /z/ deleted or devoiced: 'plays', 'goes' lose their endings
Thai speakers: /z/ devoices to /s/ everywhere: 'zoo' → 'sue'
Korean speakers: /z/ becomes /dʒ/: 'zoo' → 'joo', 'amazing' → 'amajing'

Spellings of /z/

These letter patterns commonly spell /z/: z zz s se. English spelling is unreliable; trust the IPA, not the letters.

Don't confuse it with…

Minimal pairs isolate the exact contrast, the fastest way to train both your ear and your mouth.

/s/ vs /z/: price vs prize

Words that drill /z/

Each has a full breakdown, audio in both accents and a recording drill. Practising a sound inside a real word transfers better than practising it alone.

businessBIZ-nus WednesdayWENZ-day presentPREZ-unt desertDEZ-ut clothesKLOHDHZ ThamesTEMZ

Browse the whole word bank

Frequently asked questions

How do you pronounce the /z/ sound?

Same position as /s/, tongue near the ridge. Switch your voice on: a buzzing bee sound. Crucially, most plural s and verb s endings are /z/: dogs, plays, becomes.

What is the most common mistake with /z/?

Devoicing it to /s/: 'eyes' becomes 'ice', 'plays' becomes 'place'. Since /z/ carries plurals and third-person verbs, this error blurs grammar as well as sounds.

Which spellings make the /z/ sound?

Common spellings include “z”, “zz”, “s”, “se”, as in zoo /zuː/, music /ˈmjuːzɪk/, plans /plænz/.

Does /z/ matter for IELTS?

Yes. This is a high-priority sound. Errors here frequently change one word into another, which examiners hear as reduced clarity (the exact Band 6 wording is “mispronunciation … reduces clarity at times”).

Next step

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